Brewster Express, Brewster

Brewster Express is a cute little lunch place located near the bike path on Underpass Rd (or, as we fondly like to call it "Underpants Rd").

The owners make fresh soups and sandwiches. It's simple fare but they touch the food with that something special that true cooks have, so most everything you try kisses your taste buds with dancing delight. Breads are fresh, the house salad dressing is great, the roast beef is uncannily delicious, the sandwiches are named after space objects, "Meteor" and "Venus" and such whimsical names.

The homemade soups are absolutely to die for, and in the winter are the high point of my day, thick and stewy and juicy.

We often order lunches for our office there, Astrolabe, Inc. Terry, the owner, misuderstood me the first time I ordered on the phone, and thought I said my name was "Ester Lake" instead of Astrolabe. After we all figured it out we had a good laugh....if you go in there, tell 'em Ester Lake sent ya. You can tell 'em they've been blogged.

There's a menu for kids too, and lots of drinks to choose from, ice cream (the good kind) and outdoor picnic tables scattered about. It's quite a popular spot and not one of those "fry fish and fries" joints that do a number on old guts.

Good biker stop off to chew and screw.

Ying's Place, Dennisport

There's a new place over yonder in Dennisport. It's called Ying's Place (across from Benny's) and it's...interesting. They specialize in Korean, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, and there is also a separate good 'ol American burger and fries menu for the less adventurous at heart. Like the date where the chick wants Japanese sushi but her boyfriend will have none of it, well, they can both go here and everyone will be happy. (That should be an interesting conversation.)

The foyer into the place is kind of neat, with carved dragons and TONS of fushcia-colored orchids. I was pleasantly surprised as I am a to-die-for flower child from way back. Much to my dismay the lovely decor and beguiling entrance terminated with a screeching halt at the end of foyer. Inside - begolly! - it looks like a classic Irish/sports bar resturant, complete with 70s rock an' roll blaring over the speakers, and sports channels on the TVs. There is this little room, separated from the rest, with a wooden bead curtain and looking well-lit inside. There are a couple of booths in there, and what looked like a Japanese sushi counter. The whole resturant is pretty big, and there is mega seating everywhere.

We went in for a ladies lunch (er...no lunch menu, though) and tried various favorites. Our waiter was very attentive if somewhat inexperienced (though his cuteness made up a lot for that). And the hostess was attentive as well, once she discovered our lunch was taking an inordinate amount of time to arrive. I got the impression it had been sitting in the kitchen for some unknown mysterious reason, as when we mentioned it, it came swooping out instantly.

The others ordered various Thai noodle dishes, which they found to be good, but did not inspire them to swing from the trees hooting like monkeys. I chose a Tokyo special called "Beef Ginger". The veggies were coldish, but maybe that's the style, you know a pretend salad thing. The beef had this REALLY delish spice taste to it, but the fat strips on it were about 50/50. So I spent some time picking the fat off, like a little anal old maid on strict orders from her MD.

Ying's is your typical generic Americanized establishment, with orchids thrown in for spice.

The Beacon, Orleans

The Beacon is an interesting place. It used to be a little breakfast/lunch nook, in "the old days", but now it is a lunch/dinner resturant. The foods are fresh and the cook is QUITE good. Even with the little things. The prices run $5-$15 for lunch, and low 20s for dinner.

It is a light-filled place and has a cheery atmosphere. There is a funny cat that "owns" the place. Sometimes he lies on the welcome mat, so you have to step over him to get into the resturant. He'll stare at you with the utmost relaxed, uncaring look that ever was. Other times, he'll lay in the middle of the gravel parking lot, all sprawled out like Bacchus, the gluttonous god of food and wine. We've seen him climb onto the top of a car with an open sun roof and peer down into the insides, sticking his paw down as if to grab something he simply MUST have. Very funny. Customers will walk by him, and scratch him. He's rather hard to resist, and surely must be the Buddha reincarnated. I imagine folks kneeling down before him, begging for spiritual advice. Our waitress told us he had a special heated bed in the cellar.

At the Beacon, I myself prefer the lunch menu, being lighter and somehow fun. The idea of getting dinner fare with smaller portions for lunch, has always tickled me. There is nothing outrageous or really different on the menu, but the food so far, has always been delicious.

You can sit at the bar and have appetizers if you like, if you are not up to a full blown dinner. My sister and I have done that, getting the Calamari jalapeno poppers with the special dipping sauce. Kinda fun.

The only thing I would comment negatively on, would be most of the food is on the very RICH side. It doesn't exactly help the digestive system, you know? Highly recommended but not everyday unless you want coated arteries.

Alberto's Ristorante in Hyannis

Alberto's is a somewhat snooty place, and it's also a $22/plate establishment. Something they call "affordable" at their website. Interesting. If you ask a local what they think about Alberto's, they'll say "Oh, that place is fancy." "But how is the food?", I'll ask. "Oh, it's very good." comes the non-descript answer, as eyes glaze over for a moment.

My traveling friend is a Sicilian and a serious cook to boot, so we decided to see just how "fancy" Alberto's actually was.

The ambiance was unremarkable. Nothing interesting to look at and there was this unexplainable gray feeling. The male hostess just stared, we weren't going to get any warmness from that dude, we saw that right away. Our waitress was fine in a generic trying-to-be-upper-crust way. We attempt to chit chat with her, but she didn't understand. It made me wonder about the management. Any place of business, including employees and food and atmosphere do reflect the person who owns it. Can't hide from them there facts, folks.

The food was average and conventional American-Italian fare. It was pretty good, but....well...for instance, they put sugar in the red sauce. (My friend was appalled.) And in the white clams over linguine, the clams were placed on top, not simmered in the clam sauce with the linguine, a glaring mistake my friend pointed out with irritation. The chef is a timesaver and it shows, he declared with authority.

We ate thoughtfully and left, deciding to not bother with desserts. Outside, I felt myself breathing in the fresh air with delight, relief to be out of the somewhat oppressive atmosphere that seem to have no known cause. I would recommend Alberto's owners have a Feng Shui expert come in and see what the problem is. (Do you think they will listen to me?)

There is a lovely alleyway leading to the front door of Alberto's, and walking down it is quite a pleasurable experience, even in the light misty rain. Already the food experience was dispersing from my mind, I started to forget what I had ordered or where I had been during the last hour. A rather odd place.